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Saturday, November 9, 2013

The Werewolf (1956) - Generic Wolfman By Serum

Now I've heard everything. You mean to tell me that you can make a werewolf out of a normal dude who is simply injected with a damn serum? Something does not compute, and I'm not going to allow this sign of its times to hold anymore water than the "creative" individuals who penned it. The Werewolf from 1956 follows just about every stereotype known to wolfman movies including time lapse transformation and heinous teeth except for one thing... it simply isn't good. That doesn't complete hurt it though. This is a clear cut Mystery Science Theater 3000 choice cut. Sit the robots down and let them make with the funnies. Or better yet. You can do that with your own friends over a few pints.

This is a sparse disc from Sony Choice Collection which is really great at making sure that some of the classic gems from Columbia pictures are preserved on DVD. The classic poster art is on the cover which, unfortunately, is the best thing about the movie.

The wolf barely makes an appearance and when he does... he has bunny ears or at least longer puppy ears. The makeup appliance is closer to a mask than the genius Lon Chaney Jr. Wolfman of old.

Now I've been hypercritical of this picture so far, but it's not because I dislike cheese. I like my movies as campy as they come. Originality is second fiddle to a good T&A show or better yet... oodles of Crayola blood. This is too early in the horror/sci-fi/exploitation cycle to have any of those unfortunately. I do believe there is an audience from The Werewolf. Your kids are going to love this if they're looking for a less scary man dog to run around the countryside (if they aren't bored to pieces by the antiquated storytelling style).

From the bowels and brains of American International to the rib cage and eye sockets of Amicus, Doc Terror will write your eyes shut from the prehistory to the post apocalypse of horror.Doc Terror is a contributor to The Liberal Dead and The Dead Air Podcast.